Cyndi's Two Cents

In God we trust

Despite the deterioration of ethics in our American culture today, I thank God and our founding fathers for so many constitutional rights that are mine because I am a citizen of this great country. Yes, I said I thank God. If there is one thing I know about the men and women who founded this country, it is that they recognized the role of God in the creation of the United States of America.

The Declaration of Independence reads, “They are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” That declaration was accepted by 12 members of the Continental Congress, made up of representatives of the 13 original colonies, on July 4, 1776.

We all remember stories of Betsy Ross sewing the American flag. According to Dr. Peter Lillback, Executive Director of The Providence Forum, the flag in its entirety is a reflection of our Judeo-Christian heritage. “The stars”, he explains, “call on us to continue to appeal to Heaven for our hope of justice in the pursuit of liberty, regardless of the state in which we live.”

According to one of our founding fathers, Samuel Adams, the stars on the flag are “appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the rectitude of our intentions.” (I’m pretty sure he’s talking about God.)

The verse on our Liberty Bell is from the Bible, “Proclaim liberty throughout the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof.” (Lev. 25:10) Our currency reads, “In God We Trust.” This tells us that our forefathers saw God’s hand in the shaping of this nation. Even our 50 individual state constitutions recognize Almighty God, The Supreme Being, Divine goodness or the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe.

We hear a great deal about the “separation of church and state” these days. I promise not to be a soapbox evangelist, but it infuriates me that after all the sacrifices those sons and daughters of Liberty made for us, we interpret their words and/or actions to suit our selfish wants and ways.

The separation of church and state wasn’t declared to promote a Godless country. Our founding fathers wanted us to have the freedom to worship in the church of our choice. They wanted to make sure that there was no single national church. If I want to be a Methodist, a Catholic, a Baptist, a Quaker, or anything else, I have the right to worship as I please. I do.

John Adams said, “Statesmen may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is religion and morality alone, which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand.”

Unfortunately, over time, we have edited our history books, omitting references to Divine Providence, our Creator, and Divine Guidance. We have not, however, rebuilt the Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C., where you can clearly see Moses and the Tablets from God carved into the stone. The courts may remove the Ten Commandments from the walls of their buildings, but they can’t take The Ten Commandments out of the very foundation of man’s most supreme of courts in this country.